Bicycling to the Moon by Timo Parvela illustrated by Virpi Talvitie
TITLE INFORMATION Timo Parvela is the number one children’s author in Finland. His books are sold worldwide and have been adapted for film, TV, and theatre. He has won numerous awards and twice been shortlisted for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Timo Parvela has been awarded the most important children’s and youth literature prizes in Finland. His awards include: • Shortlisted for Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) 2016 • 2013 Shortlisted for ALMA • 2010 Finnish Kalevala Society prize • 2009 WSOY Literary Foundation Reward for his Exceptional Merits as an Author • 2008 Koura Prize • 2008 Plättä Prize • 2007 Topelius Prize • 2006 Finlandia Junior prize • 2005 Book Club Reward for his Exceptional Merits as an Author • 1989, 1997 H.C. Andersen Honour List Diploma Virpi Talvitie is one of Finland’s most prestigious illustrators. In 2006 and 2008 she was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award and was awarded the Finlandia Junior Prize in 2006.
Ages 7–10 198mm x 146mm 128 pages Paperback with flaps, full-colour ISBN: 978-1-776570-32-4 Ebook available Origin: Finland
curiously good books www.geckopress.com
Book suitable for ages: 7–10 A warmhearted and funny chapter book from Finland’s top children’s writer about the book Purdy the cat and Barker the dog live together in a sky-blue house on top of a hill. Barker likes the garden. He wants only to dig, to scratch up the earth and turn it over. But Purdy has big dreams: he wants to fly south with the birds, win the singing competition, be a Supercat. One day Purdy decides that if he could just get a bicycle and ride it to the moon, he would be the happiest cat in the world, and never want anything else again. Ever. Purdy the cat’s antics, dreams, and sly manipulation of his friend are laugh-out-loud funny, while the very warm heart to these stories will have every reader wishing they had a good friend like Barker the dog. REVIEWS “Parvela is a master of quiet humour. The storytelling is profound in its naiveté, and the style speaks to readers of all ages. I predict a long and successful future for Purdy and Barker” Keskisuomalainen “It makes the reader think about catness and dogness...selfishness and self-sacrifice” Helsingin sanomat (Finland) ABOUT GECKO PRESS Gecko Press, founded in 2005, is a New Zealand-based independent publisher of curiously good children’s books from around the world. We choose books that are excellent in story, illustration and design, with a strong ‘heart factor’. Our current list stands at over 120 titles, ranging from board books through to pre-teen novels. For more information on Gecko Press, visit our website: www.geckopress.com